


You Had Me At "Hell No"

by baridalive



Series: 12 Days of Donghyuck [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Basketball, Christmas, Dancing, Drinking, Finding Love, Kissing, Love, M/M, Party, Sports, basketball player!yukhei, classmates - Freeform, makeout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 01:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17112140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baridalive/pseuds/baridalive
Summary: In which it is learned that forgetting rules makes one remember their place___Days 7 and 8 of Donghyuck's quest to find love before Christmas





	1. Day 7

**Author's Note:**

> this story can be a standalone, but there are parts that will make more sense if you read the previously posted parts of the series first!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a bit of warning on this:  
> i did my absolute best to keep it t rated and i think it worked  
> there's going to be some drinking, but everyone is of age so it's okay (or at least moreso)  
> but none of that really comes into play until next chapter, sO  
> enjoy!!!  
> (p.s. this isn't proofread at ALL)

**Saturday, December 20th**

_ 2 Days Until Departure _

_ 4 Days Until the Christmas Eve Party _

**5 Days Until Christmas**

* * *

 

**Donghyuck woke up the next** morning craving hot chocolate with every fibre of his being. He had spent the entire morning sleeping in, and the desire for his favorite comfort drink just increased as he gradually regained consciousness. 

 

He groggily made his way into the kitchen, seeing that Jaemin was still curled up on the couch. They had stayed up late the previous night, eating ice cream and watching new episodes of all of their favorite shows until Jaemin fell asleep on Donghyuck’s shoulder. Donghyuck would have stayed there on the couch with him, but all of his muscles had been crying out to sleep on an actual bed.

 

The need to be silent and not wake Jaemin up made his search for the cocoa powder and milk a lot slower than it would have been otherwise, but after accidentally waking Jaemin up one day when he dropped a pan on the floor, he decided that it was better to be careful than risk the wrath of a grumpy Jaemin.

 

Donghyuck spent a good ten minutes looking for the cocoa powder in the kitchen before realizing that Jaemin had mentioned something about using it up the other day when it was cold, but knowing him, he had never gotten around to getting any more of it.

 

A sigh escaped his mouth as he trudged back into his bedroom. Donghyuck flopped on his bed face down, cursing his roommate silently before tugging on some joggers and a sweatshirt to go out and buy himself some hot chocolate at the cafe just down the street from his apartment block. 

 

Donghyuck nearly held his breath as he crept past the living room to the door where he put on his shoes and exited the apartment as quietly as he physically could, only releasing once the breath once he was a couple yards away from the door.

 

The early afternoon sun was bright, but it wasn’t enough to but through the chill of the winter breeze that had picked up some time earlier that day, making Donghyuck tuck his hands into his sleeves and walk a little faster down the sidewalk to the cafe, which was thankfully, nearly empty.

 

There were a couple of people in the back corner having an animated discussion, and one student sitting at one of the high-top tables by the windows, but other than that, Donghyuck was the only person in the store as far as he could tell. 

 

The little bell on the door finished clanging when the door swooped shut after Donghyuck had fully entered, alerting the worker who he could see darting around the back room of his presence in the store.

 

“I’ll be out in just a moment!” A high-pitched voice called from the back, telling Donghyuck that Chenle was the one working today. 

 

“Take your time, Lele!” Donghyuck responded, almost missing the ringing of the bell on the door, until there was a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around to see Yukhei standing there, a small smile on his face. 

 

“What are you doing here?” Yukhei asked.

 

“Same thing as you, probably.” Donghyuck raised an eyebrow.

 

“Ah,” Yukhei chuckled. “You’re probably right.” He shuffled his feet for a moment, twiddling his thumbs before he spoke up again. “Are you coming to the game tonight?”

 

Donghyuck tilted his head to the side, catching a glimpse of Chenle emerging from the back room, tying an apron around his waist as he made his way to the register. “It’s a distinct possibility.”

 

Yukhei was clearly struggling not to pout. “Why is it only a possibility?” Donghyuck just laughed as he placed his order for a large hot chocolate, pointedly not answering. “No coffee?” Was his second question, changing the topic since Yukhei must have understood he wasn’t going to get anywhere if he pressed his earlier question. 

 

“Nah,” Donghyuck shrugged. “Not a huge fan of the flavor, I guess.” He dug around in his pockets for his wallet, forgetting for a moment which one he put it in before he noticed Yukhei had slipped in between him and the counter and was ordering an Americano for himself and was handing Chenle his card.

 

“What are you doing?” Donghyuck almost dropped his wallet. 

 

“Ordering my coffee. Why?” Yukhei’s eyes were bright with mischief. 

 

“But  _ why _ ?” Donghyuck pressed as Chenle got to work preparing their drinks.

 

Yukhei paused before choosing his next words. “Consider it a thank you in advance.”

 

Donghyuck frowned. “For what?” Yukhei muttered something in Mandarin to Chenle, making him nearly drop Yukhei’s Americano with a laugh.

 

“For coming to the game tonight.” Yukhei took the drink that Chenle slid across the counter with an easy grin on his face.

 

Donghyuck gaped. “That’s blatant bribery. You can’t do that!” He stared after Yukhei as he pushed the door open to leave the cafe.

 

Yukhei flashed him an award winning smile. “Looks like I just did, sunshine.” With that, he disappeared out of the cafe into the bright winter afternoon. 

 

Chenle leaned his elbows on the counter, his chin in his hands. “Dude,” He smiled. “You’re so in for it.”

 

Donghyuck whacked him, not bothering to explain that this was a very different date from the one he had told the younger about in choir the other day. “Am not!”

 

Chenle just shrugged, pushing the cup of hot cocoa across the counter. “Either way, you’d better go to that game.”

 

“Why?” Donghyuck asked, curious as to why Chenle was pushing this idea so much.

 

“That’s Wong freaking Yukhei who just personally asked you to go to his basketball game. I don’t think that’s an opportunity you should pass up so easily.”

 

Donghyuck lifted his shoulders before letting them drop as he took a sip of his drink. “I don’t know…”

 

“I have a feeling that you’ll enjoy yourself, if nothing else.” Chenle raised his hands in defense. Donghyuck just nodded silently in response, his thoughts all over the place as he walked back to the apartment. 

 

There was a bit of a mess in the kitchen from where Jaemin had made himself a meal—whether it was supposed the be breakfast or lunch, Donghyuck would never know—debating the pros and cons of going to the game all the while.

 

When he couldn’t come up with a verdict, he caved and walked into the living room to ask Jaemin his opinion, interrupting him from watching his show.   
  
“Jaem,” Donghyuck whined, flopping down on the couch beside him. “I don’t know whether to go to the basketball game tonight or not.”

 

“Since when do you care about the basketball team?” Jaemin raised an eyebrow.

 

“Since Wong Yukhei personally asked me to go.”

 

Jaemin choked. “ _ Yukhei _ asked you _ personally _ to attend the game?!”

 

Donghyuck sighed, sinking further down into the couch. “Twice.”

 

Jaemin shot up, letting the blankets that he had been buried under slide off of him in a hurry. “This isn’t even up for debate. You’re going to that game and you’re going all out.” He dragged Donghyuck up by the arm.

 

He stormed into Donghyuck’s room and began to go through his dresser in closet in search of the perfect outfit for him to wear. It didn’t take him long, though, because before Donghyuck could even settle himself on his bed, Jaemin was thrusting a pile of clothes into his arms, commanding him to change.

 

Jaemin had picked out his blue ripped skinny jeans, a high-neck black crop top, and an old yellow sports jacket that Donghyuck was reasonably sure was his dad’s from the 80’s. Donghyuck had to admit, as he looked at himself in the mirror, that he really did look good.

 

Donghyuck called Jaemin back into the room. “What do you think?”

 

Jaemin made him twirl, then his eyes widened as he darted back out of the room, only to return a moment later with a small bundle of cloth and a command to put it on before he exited the bedroom once more, leaving Donghyuck confused for a moment until he took a closer look at what Jaemin had handed him.

 

Donghyuck held, at least what he assumed was, the article of clothing up to get a better look at it, but couldn’t understand what it was until he almost dropped it, and ended up catching it by the edge, leaving the rest of it to unravel into a distinguishable shape.

 

Oh.

 

_ Oh. _

 

In Donghyuck’s hands were loosely meshed pants,  _ fishnets _ , and he actually did drop them that time. He didn’t know what kind of basketball game Jaemin thought he was going to, but fishnets definitely weren’t necessary.

 

“I can hear your apprehension from out here!” Jaemin yelled through the door. “Just put them on!”

 

Donghyuck hesitantly slid out of his jeans to put on the fishnets underneath before slipping his jeans right back over on top of the mesh. He didn’t even dare to look in the mirror before he flung the door of his bedroom wide open, his eyes squeezed shut.

 

“Please tell me I don’t look as bad as I think I do.” Donghyuck spilled out all in one breath. Jaemin, who had been leaning up against the wall opposite the doorway, let out a low whistle, his eyes widening.

 

“I’m literally never taking those back. You pull them off better than I ever could.” Jaemin breathed, looking him up and down.

 

Donghyuck flicked his shoulder, turning pink. “Shut up.”

 

Jaemin grinned back. “You look great, Hyuckie. You really do.”

 

Donghyuck hummed as he turned back to go into his room. “If you say so,” He called out over his shoulder as he pulled out his makeup bag.

 

He heard Jaemin laugh as he peeked into the doorway. “I do say so. Now you go get dolled up and have fun on your not-date because I’m going to go take a nap.”

 

Donghyuck smiled to himself as he put on some makeup; he had no idea how hot the stadium was going to be and the last thing he wanted was to sweat a full face of makeup off. He settled on something simple: eyeliner, highlight, blush, a touch of peach lipgloss to seal the deal. 

 

Donghyuck looked at himself in the mirror, and had to admit that he really did look good. Although he’d never say it, the fishnets pulled the outfit together in a way that Donghyuck never could have imagined, and tucked the thought to thank Jaemin later away in the back of his mind.

 

After a glance at the clock, Donghyuck realized that it was time to leave for the game if he wanted any chance of making it on time. With a quick kiss to Jaemin’s cheek on his way out the door—he took great care not to smudge his lipgloss—Donghyuck headed out to the stadium in the middle of campus.

 

It still confused Donghyuck why the university he attended, which was performing arts focused, had so many sports teams as well as two huge stadiums for said sports teams, but he supposed that as long as people were happy with what they were doing, he had absolutely no right to judge. 

 

The moment he arrived in the stadium, which he got into for free thanks to his student ID, Donghyuck felt extraordinarily out of place. He knew no one here, and looked a little overdressed for the occasion too. He mentally cursed himself for not dragging Jaemin along. 

 

Donghyuck had never been to a sporting event, minus some dance competitions where he went to support his friends and teammates, strictly to spectate. Usually, he was performing the national anthem at the beginning and bailed right after, or he stuck around through halftime to perform before leaving. He had never paid much attention to the game itself, and found himself wondering exactly what the rules of basketball were.

 

He meandered his way up to the student section, plopping himself down on one of the bottommost rows so he could be as close to the court as he could and try his best to follow along with the game. But there wasn’t a game going on down on the court yet. In fact, there seemed to be somewhat of a commotion. 

 

There was a microphone set up in the middle of the center circle on the court, the two teams were lining up on either side of the court, but the officials were flitting around, distressed, obviously looking for someone.

 

An announcement rung through the loudspeakers of the stadium. Donghyuck didn’t catch most of it, but he heard “Huang Renjun”, “report to the floor”, and “anthem”, so it only took a moment for him to piece together what was happening. Rejun was supposed to be singing the national anthem tonight before the game, but no one knew that he was gone.

 

Donghyuck spotted Yukhei down on the court, looking almost of average height on the court instead of the tree he appeared to be when he was around normal sized people. He was looking around at the stadium anxiously, drumming his fingers on his leg as he scanned the seats.

 

Yukhei’s eyes made their way to the student section at last, and he made eye contact with Donghyuck. A smile grew on his face and Donghyuck could almost see the lightbulb going off above his head. 

 

Yukhei grinned and left the lineup of his team to go talk to an official, hurriedly explaining something with animated gestures. The official seemed unsure for a moment, but Yukhei pointed up into the stands at Donghyuck, and the official nodded before sending Yukhei back to his team.

 

Donghyuck froze. He just  _ knew _ that Yukhei had mentioned that he was in the top choir, and Donghyuck tried to sink down into his seat. The frenzy on the court increased for a moment as words were passed between the officials, and he almost didn’t notice someone running up the steps of the stands until they were right next to him, breathing hard and tapping his shoulder. 

 

“Are you Lee Donghyuck?” The man asked, panting.

 

Donghyuck took pity on the man, and gave him a straightforward response instead of the snarky one he had been preparing in his head. “Yes.”

 

“Could you help us out? Someone had agreed to sing the national anthem for us, but they don’t seem to be here. No one from the band is here to help, and we can’t get a recording to play—”

 

“I’ll do it.” Donghyuck sighed standing up. The man looked to desperate that he couldn’t say no.

 

The man’s face lit up. “Really? That would be amazing!” He grabbed Donghyuck’s wrist and guided him down the steps away from the rowdy student section and to the floor of the court, which was not a place he was unfamiliar with, it was just that he hadn’t been down there in quite a while. 

 

The man, who introduced himself as Kun, gave Donghyuck a chance to do a vocal warmup at the announcer prattled off the names of the members of both teams. Donghyuck tried to calm his heart rate. He’d done this a bunch of times before, so why was he so nervous now? He glanced over to see Yukhei flash a blinding grin at the crowd when his name was called, and  _ oh, yeah, that’s why _ .

 

“And now, ladies and gentlemen!” The announcer’s voice boomed through the stadium, and Donghyuck realized that it was much easier to understand when he wasn’t surrounded by screaming students. “Please stand as you are able, and remove your caps. The national anthem, performed by Symphonic Choir member Lee Donghyuck!”

 

Donghyuck cleared his throat as he walked to the microphone, trying to focus on the words to the anthem. There was no background track for this. It was completely a capella, and would be ridiculously obvious if he messed up. Donghyuck gripped the microphone and looked around to see Yukhei give him a quick thumbs up and a reassuring smile.

 

He felt his face heat up, but took a deep breath and began to sing. Donghyuck had his eyes closed for most of it, because whenever he opened them, he was always met with the sight of Yukhei staring at him and not at the flag. Donghyuck was sure that he was blushing like crazy by the end of it, but he sang the whole anthem without a single hitch.

 

Donghyuck opened his eyes to thunderous applause from the whole stadium, to which he simply replied to with a smile and a bow. He let the sleeves of his jacket slide down to cover how badly his hands were shaking as he walked back to Kun, who was waiting on the side of the court for him.

 

“That was phenomenal, Donghyuck!” Kun clapped gently as he approached.

 

“Thank you, Kun.” Donghyuck gave him a smile and started back up the stairs to the student section of the stadium, but Kun put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

 

“We have an extra courtside seat, if you’re interested.” Kun pointed to the empty seat not too far away from where the university’s team bench was. “It’s the least we can do to say thank you.”

 

“I’d love that!” Donghyuck immediately agreed, knowing that his ear drums would be much better off if he sat down here versus if he were to spend the entire game up in the student section. 

 

He tried his best to understand the game, he really did, but Donghyuck just couldn’t wrap his head around what was going on. It must have showed on his face because Kun, who had taken the seat next to him, kindly began to explain what was going on from the point system, to why certain things were fouls. 

 

By the end of the game, the score was sixty-one to twenty-nine—Yukhei’s team had won—and Donghyuck understood what travelling was, so he considered it a success.

 

Donghyuck didn’t even know why he was cheering that much, but not two seconds after the buzzer went off, he saw Yukhei make a beeline straight to him. Donghyuck was still cheering when Yukhei picked him up by the waist, twirling him around in a circle as both of them laughed. 

 

“Thanks for coming, sunshine.” Yukhei mumbled into Donghyuck’s hair once he put him down for a proper hug. Before Donghyuck could reply, Yukhei’s coach called him over to get into the locker rooms. 

 

“Wong! Get your ass in the showers!” Yukhei winced.

 

“Stick around for me, will ya? Just in the main entrance. I promise I won’t be long!” He called to Donghyuck as his teammates practically whisked him away, leaving Donghyuck standing on the side of the rapidly emptying court.

 

He doesn’t end up having to linger for long, though, because not even ten minutes after Donghyuck had made it to the lobby, the door that served as the exit from the locker rooms to the main lobby burst open to reveal Yukhei with damp hair and a gym bag that was half closed slung carelessly over his shoulder.

 

He had on dark skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, he only had one arm through the sleeve of a black leather jacket and one of his shoes was untied, but everything haphazard about Yukhei didn’t seem to matter when he flashed Donghyuck a smile, his eyes lighting up at the realization that Donghyuck actually had waited. 

 

“You’re still here!” His voice was so surprised that Donghyuck had to laugh.

 

“I figured I’d stick around since you asked so nicely.” Donghyuck shrugged as Yukhei struggled to put his other arm through the sleeve of his jacket. 

 

“Are you doing anything else tonight?”

 

“Not that I know of.” Donghyuck smiled. “You got anything in mind?”

 

“There’s this party, not too far from here,” Yukhei began. “A couple of my friends are throwing it and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go with me?” Donghyuck glanced at the clock on the wall, which read about ten minutes from midnight, and honestly, he got all dressed up and it would be a shame if he didn’t get to show it off more.

 

“Sure,” Donghyuck grinned. “As long as you’re driving.”

 

Yukhei smirked, pulling car keys out of his back pocket. “Way ahead of you.” 

 

Donghyuck let himself be dragged out of the lobby and into the parking lot by the other boy, and the fact that an entire day had gone by didn’t even cross his mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yIKES i'm so so sorry this got posted so late, but school was insane for thursday and friday and i couldn't get around to working on this  
> hOWEVER the second chapter of this will be posted tonight, as well as hopefully the first chapter of the next story (if not, both parts of the next story will be posted tomorrow so i'll be all caught up)  
> thank you for sticking with me!!! i'm on break now and will have a lot more time for writing!!!!  
> i'll see you in a little bit with the next chapter!!!


	2. Day 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole chapter just turned into a game of "how many times can i make hyuckhei kiss but still have them not end up together?"  
> in a WILD twist of events..... this still is not proofread i'm so sorry  
> ksjdfhask also sorry i meant to get this up yesterday but i fell asleep so soRRY  
> and i got my inspiration for hyuck's outfit from [this beautiful piece of art](https://twitter.com/boyishlyy/status/1008401311115575298?s=21) so :)

**Sunday, December 21st**

_ 1 Day Until Departure _

_ 3 Days Until the Christmas Eve Party _

**4 Days Until Christmas**

* * *

 

 **It was well into Sunday** by the time the party was in full swing, but Donghyuck wasn’t paying attention to counting the days until his departure. No, he was much more focused on how Yukhei’s hands wrapped most of the way around his hips, and how he could feel the music pumping through Yukhei’s chest when he stepped closer.

 

There was still finesse in the way Donghyuck was grinding himself against Yukhei, even though most of sense of self-preservation was left at the doorway to the frat house along with his jacket. 

 

The alcohol buzzing in his system made his normal confidence levels skyrocket, and he vaguely recalled that he had only been about three drinks and ten minutes into the party when he had dragged Yukhei out into the living-room-turned-dance-floor, but he had absolutely no concept of how much time had passed after that.

 

Yukhei’s tan skin had a sheen of sweat over it, which Donghyuck was sure he matched, making it seem to almost glow under the haphazardly set up neon lighting in the room. Yukhei had seemed exhausted after the game, but right then, Yukhei couldn’t have seemed more alive and energetic.

 

His eyes danced with mischief, his movements were fluid against Donghyuck, and his hands were  _ everywhere _ . From Donghyuck’s neck to his shoulders, tracing down the curve of his back before resting on his hips and eventually finding their way to his thighs. 

 

God, Donghyuck didn’t even think before bringing Yukhei’s lips down to his own for the umpteenth time that night. The kiss was no neater than it had been any of the previous times that night, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

 

Yukhei’s grip on his waist tightened, his thumbs rubbing their way under the hem of Donghyuck’s crop top. The room was stiflingly hot, but it did nothing to stop the shivers from traveling down his spine, making him step impossibly closer to Yukhei’s chest. Donghyuck only managed to pull himself away when he finally realized just how thirsty he was. 

 

“Hey!” Donghyuck had to yell even though they were standing inches apart. “I need some water!”

 

The words took a moment to register in Yukhei’s head, given away by the momentary lost look on his face, but he nodded, lacing his fingers with Donghyuck’s and gently leading him out of the living room. 

 

Yukhei led him down a short, dimly lit hallway until they reach a doorway with bright fluorescent light streaming out of it. Donghyuck had blink his eyes a couple of times to get adjusted to the light, but he opened his eyes just in time to see someone from Yukhei’s basketball doing a body shot off of one the girls in Donghyuck’s music theory class.

 

“I don’t suppose there’s any way you’d let me do that with you?” Yukhei asked, his tone telling Donghyuck he was only half joking.

 

Donghyuck snorted. “ _ Hell _ no.”

 

“Wait,” Yukhei laughed. “Wasn’t that the first thing you ever said to me?”

 

Donghyuck thought about it for a moment. “Yeah it was, wasn’t it? Last year at Lee Taeyong’s last frat party before he graduated, you asked me if I wanted to kiss one you.” He wrinkled his nose. “You were weird last year.”

 

“Okay, maybe I was, but I got ten bucks off of that dare.” Yukhei chuckled. “But I think that things are a little different now.” He leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Donghyuck’s jaw.

 

“I’d still say hell no to body shots, though.” Donghyuck scoffed lightheartedly, but he glanced up at Yukhei to see a small pout on his lips. “But,” Donghyuck pulled Yukhei lightly by the arm back out into the hallway, effectively letting the taller pin him against the wall. “I might let you do this.”

 

Donghyuck stood up on his tiptoes, raising himself up to gently place his lips on Yukhei’s again. Yukhei let out a groan, stepping closer and putting his hands on either side of Donghyuck’s waist.

 

Maybe it was because Yukhei was so tall yet parted his lips so easily for him when Donghyuck ran his tongue along the seam, or maybe it was just the alcohol and the heat of the room, but Donghyuck found himself moving Yukhei’s hands from his waist to the backs of his thighs, giving them a tap.

 

Yukhei got the message loud and clear, grabbing Donghyuck’s thighs and hoisting him up so he was supported by just the wall and Yukhei’s hands. Donghyuck wrapped his legs around Yukhei’s waist as their position was adjusted, moaning lightly as the kiss was deepened. 

 

The kiss was nothing if not hot and heavy; their lips slotted together, letting their tongues map out each other’s mouths. Every time Yukhei nibbled on Donghyuck’s lower lip, he let out the most embarrassing noises that Yukhei just swallowed up with every lap of his tongue.

 

Yukhei slowly pulled away; Donghyuck chased his lips, but Yukhei let his mouth find its way to Donghyuck’s neck. He nipped at the skin careful not to leave anything too obvious or big, but the bites were just harsh enough for Donghyuck to lose his breath.

 

Donghyuck leaned his head back in complete bliss, giving Yukhei full access to mark up his neck as he pleased: biting, sucking, kissing, licking all the way from his neck to his collarbones. 

 

Everything is absolutely perfect until Donghyuck’s eyes flutter open and he catches sight of something over Yukhei’s shoulder that takes his breath away for a completely different reason.

 

Not ten feet away in the middle of then kitchen, stood Jung Jaehyun, a boy who he dated for nearly two years, making out messily with a girl that Donghyuck recognized from his music theory class. 

 

He hadn’t spotted Jaehyun at the game earlier, but Donghyuck knew that he was still friends with a lot of the guys on it, and it made him wonder if Jaehyun and Yukhei were at all close. He didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on it though, because Yukhei bit down particularly hard and Donghyuck let out a whine loud enough for Jaehyun to whip his head around. 

 

Jaehyun’s eyebrows raised at Donghyuck’s compromising position, but he covered his surprise quickly with an easy smirk. Yukhei must have sensed Donghyuck’s distress and he turned his head to meet the judgmental gaze of Jaehyun, only to nearly drop Donghyuck seconds later.

 

“You know, Yukhei,” Jaehyun began, and Donghyuck just  _ knew _ that whatever he was going to say was going to be horrible. “If you’re caught hooking up with sluts like Hyuckie here, your scholarship could be revoked.”

 

Yukhei tensed up, his hands hovering just over Donghyuck’s hips, not quite touching him now that Donghyuck was standing on his own. “What?”

 

Jaehyun laughed. “The administration won’t be pleased with your behavior or you choice in partner… for more than one reason.”

 

The implication smacked Donghyuck right in the face, and hypocrisy of Jaehyun judging them for being gay made him want to smack Jaehyun right back. It’s not like Jaehyun didn’t date Donghyuck for the better part of two years, even though he won’t admit it now.

 

“Okay, that’s enough Jaehyun.” Even saying his name caused Donghyuck to wince, but he persisted. “Leave us alone.”

 

Jaehyun just laughed, disappearing back into the kitchen. The girl flashed them a confused, yet apologetic, smile before darting after him. Donghyuck slumped back against the wall for a moment before grabbing Yukhei’s wrist and half dragging him out of the frat house, barely remembering to grab his coat on the way, unable to spend another second in the proximity of Jaehyun.

 

“Something tells me you have some history with Jaehyun?” Yukhei asked, lacing his fingers back with Donghyuck’s.

 

Donghyuck snorted. “You could say that.” And Yukhei is kind enough not to ask him to elaborate.

 

Instead he asked something completely different that Donghyuck wasn’t expecting: “Do you wanna go check out my art project?”. Donghyuck knew that Yukhei was an art student, but had never seen his work. “You can help me work on it.”

 

Donghyuck was a little skeptical, but his gratefulness for the distraction and Yukhei’s continued trust in him overrode the apprehension. “I’d love to.”

 

Yukhei shot him an easy grin and squeezed his hand. They walked on the sidewalk for a while, no words exchanged, until Donghyuck recognized where they were finally. Yukhei had brought him to the dance studio.

 

With a skip in his step, Yukhei led Donghyuck over to the side of the building with the huge plastic sheets over it. “Here it is!” He frowned, looking at Donghyuck’s confused face before understanding that all he could see were the plastic coverings. Yukhei unlatched them from the building somehow, and took them off. “This is it!”

 

And Donghyuck had officially lost count of how many times his breath had been taken away that day.

 

It was a mural, painted on stunningly in all different colors, but it was what the mural was  _ of _ that made Donghyuck gasp. In the very center, there was a silhouette of a dancer in a particularly unique pose that Donghyuck had only ever seen a couple of people ever do in competition, and one of those people was him.

 

“Is that…” 

 

Yukhei turned around to face the mural, as if only just realizing that he had painted that himself. “Oh, yeah. That’s you.” He blushed. “That was the first time I ever saw you perform, actually.”

 

“This is phenomenal,” Donghyuck breathed, reaching out to touch the paint.

 

“Really?” Yukhei had disappeared for a moment while Donghyuck was busy admiring the mural, only to return moments later with a couple cans of spray paint. “Thanks.”

 

Yukhei taught Donghyuck how to paint the mural with the correct techniques to keep everything consistent, and they did it for so long that Donghyuck’s only sign of how much time had passed was that he couldn’t feel the alcohol in his system anymore.

 

He stopped for a moment and glanced over at Yukhei. Donghyuck had only meant to stop for a second, but he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Yukhei as he worked. The careful yet careless movement of his arm as he moved the can across the wall, the way his tongue poked out of his mouth and his brow furrowed: it was all entrancing. 

 

Yukhei glanced over to catch Donghyuck staring. “I take it that you like it?” He leaned in to kiss Donghyuck again.

 

“I do,” Donghyuck murmured against Yukhei’s lips, dropping the paint cans to kiss him properly. The kiss was a lot sweeter that time around, Yukhei cradling Donghyuck’s face gently as Donghyuck looped his arms around Yukhei’s neck.

 

For a moment, Donghyuck let himself think that maybe, just maybe, Yukhei was the one he could take back home. That Yukhei was the college boy he could see himself with, that he was the one his parents would approve of, the one that he could work things out with.

 

But all of those thoughts were forced right out of his head when raucous drunk laughter from just down the street. A couple of voices slowly distinguished themselves and Yukhei nearly pushed Donghyuck off of him as a trio of people rounded the corner.

 

The three boys, who Donghyuck recognized vaguely from Yukhei’s team, nearly didn’t notice them and almost walked past the wall without disturbing them. But, it was just at that moment that Donghyuck’s body decided that it was a fantastic time to have to sneeze, causing the heads of the three boys to whip in his direction.

 

“Lucas, dude, is that you?” The tallest one asked, nearly tripping over himself as he walked forward. It was abundantly clear that all three of them were extraordinarily intoxicated.

 

Yukhei let out a small huff. “Yeah.”

 

“Who’s the twink?”

 

Donghyuck winced, but didn’t say anything. “Oh, this?” Yukhei’s voice was uncharacteristically nervous all of a sudden. “This is just a friend.” That was the moment Donghyuck knew none of this was going to end well.

 

“Then why does it look like you two were  _ k-i-s-s-i-n-g _ ?” The shortest guffawed. “What would coach say if he say you fraternizing with a  _ boy _ ?”

 

Yukhei crossed his arms. “We weren’t doing anything. He was just showing me his art project.”

 

“Oh, good, this isn’t yours.” The other one spoke finally. “I was afraid you were into art or something for a second.”

 

Donghyuck had to bite his lip to keep himself from pointing out that this was an arts-oriented university. “Nah, the mural is his.” Yukhei laughed, but there was still that twinge of uncertainty in it. “You guys know I’m only here for the basketball.”

 

“Yup!” The tallest one stepped forward to sling an arm around Yukhei’s shoulders. “Now come back to the party with us! Some girls from the sorority across the street showed up and are  _ so hot _ .” Donghyuck wrinkled his nose, able to smell the cheap beer on the boy’s breath from several feet away.

 

“Uh, yeah! I love hot girls!” Donghyuck was glad Yukhei wasn’t a theater major. “Lemme just help clean this up and I’ll meet up with you?”

 

The three boys seemed satisfied with that response, stumbling back off down the street in the general direction of the frat party. Yukhei let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, looking at Donghyuck with eyes that knew he screwed up.

 

“So?” Yukhei asked anyway, and Donghyuck just picked up the paint cans to hand them back. 

 

“Look.” He crossed his arms over his chest, tucking himself further into his puffy jacket. “I’m honored that I’m part of this mural, I really am. And I’m glad that I got to know you a bit better tonight, but nothing can happen between us if you can’t decide who you want to be: your real self or one of them.”

 

Yukhei looked like he wanted to protest for a moment, but just ended up slumping his shoulders. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Donghyuck.”

 

“I know.” Donghyuck gave him a small smile. “I hope you can figure it out.”

 

“Me too,” Yukhei breathed.

 

The first rays of light were dipping their fingers into the night sky as Donghyuck sighed and turned on his heel to go back to his apartment without a single look back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i literally hate how i had to end this bc i love hyuckhei so so much and i'm going to go read a bunch of soft hyuckhei after this in order to make up for it  
> also just a psa i love jaehyun so so much and he's just a character in this (it pained me to write him like that)  
> bUT!! hopefully i can get caught up with jeno's story today bc his won't end up being as long as the hyucksung or hyuckhei stories, i think, or at least as far as i can tell from what i've planned  
> mKAY!!! thank you so much for sticking with this and my inability to post aNYTHING on time!!!  
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on my socials about anything <3
> 
>  
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/baridalive)  
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